Convertible furniture



Feb. 15, 1944. F. s. HOFFMAN CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE 2 Shets-Sheet 1 FiledDec. 8, 1942 Feb. 15, 1944. 'F s, HOFFMAN 2,341,616

CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE Filed Dec. 8, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb.15, 1944 UNITED STATES 2,341,616 I CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE 7 ApplicationDecember 8, 1942, Serial No. 468,187

2 Claims.

This invention relates to convertible couch beds, sofas, chairs and thelike articles of furniture having seat and back sections pivotallysupported so that the back section may be swung from an upright positionwherein it provides a back rest to a horizontal position wherein itforms a bed section or a part of a bed section.

The principal objects of the present invention are to provide an articleof furniture of the above type having pivotal supporting means and 1associated locking device effective to hold the back section securely inupright position and adapted to be quickly and conveniently released sothat the latter may be swung to a horizontal position, and to provide acouch, sofa, chair or the like article which, with the exception of thefastening elements, etc., may be of an all-wood construction.

Further objects relate to various features of the construction and willbe apparent from a consideration of the following description and theaccompanying drawings, wherein Fig. l is a vertical section through aconvertible couch constructed in accordance with the presentinvention,the back section being shown in its normal upright position;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front elevation of the couch shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section showing the back section swungto a substantially horizontal position;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the seat section swungto a position to effect release of the parts preparatory to beinglowered to horizontal position; and

Fig. 5 is a detail showing the releasable locking device.

The embodiment herein shown comprises a box-like frame having front,rear and end or side walls I, 2 and 3, respectively, which may be ofconventional design and construction and appropriately finished in anysuitable manner. A seat 5 is supported on the frame and comprises frontand rear longitudinal members 6 and l, and end or cross members 8rigidly secured to each other in any suitable manner to provide a strongrigid structure for supporting a mattress spring and/ or cushion withappropriate up holstery (not shown). An upstanding side wall or bracketI0 is rigidly secured to each of the cross members 8 and the upper endof a link II is pivotally secured by a dowel or pin l2 to the outer faceof the side wall Ill. The lower end of the link H is pivotally connectedby a dowel or pin M to the outer face of the adjacent side wall 3, asshown in Fig. 1, so that the seat 5 is not only supported for pivotalmovement from normal horizontal position (Fig. 1) to an upstanding orinclined position (Figs. 3 and 4), but also for lateral movement fromits normal position, wherein it provides a seat, to an oflset positionshown by the dot and dash lines of Fig.- 3, wherein it provides a bedsection.

A back section I5 is pivotally supported relative to the seat sectionand frame and comprises top and bottom longitudinal members l6 and I1and cross or end members'lfl. Each of the end members It carries aprojecting side wall or bracket 2E! and a supporting arm 2| whichextends inwardly and is pivotally connected with the side wall H) by thepin I2 which not only provides a pivotal support for the seat section,but also for the back section IS. A link 24 is pivotally connected atits upper end by a pin 25 to the outer face of side wall 20 and at itslower end to the outer face of the end wall of the frame by a pin 26,the arrangement being such that as the seat is swung fromnormalupstanding position to horizontal position, the links .24 may actsimultaneously to move the section inwardly to an offset positionwherein the lower frame member I1 is positioned substantially at thecenter of the frame, as shown in Fig. 4. The design and construction ofthe back rest is generally similar to that of the seat section, it beingunderstood that it carries a mattress spring and/or cushion suitablyupholstered to provide both a back rest when'in upstanding position anda bed section when in horizontal position.

A block 30 is carried by each longitudinal member l and provides apivotal support for thelower end of a latch member 3|. The free end ofthe latch member is bifurcated, as shown in Fig. 5. and formed with anotch 32. The lower longi tudinal member I! of back section l5 carries ablock 35 adjacent to each end, and this block is provided withprojecting edgesdefimng abutments 36 and an intervening grooved portion31 having an inclined bottom wall, the arrangement of parts being suchthat the abutments 36 are aligned with the bifurcated notched ends ofthe latch 3|, as shown in Fig. 5. A trip member 40 is pivotally mountedbetween the bifurcated ends of the latch 3| by a pin 4| in alignmentwith a groove 31, and a stop pin 42 is provided to prevent the trip fromswinging to an inoperative position.

The construction and arrangement of parts are such that when the backsection is in upstanding position, or when the two sections are swungrelative to each other to a predetermined angular position, asillustrated in Fig. 1, the notched ends of the latch 3| engage theabutments 36 so that the back section may be securely locked inupstanding position; and with the parts thus positioned the back sectionmay be swung downwardly or the seat section lifted upwardly, and ineither case the two sections not only swing about the pins I2 and 25,but are also simultaneously carried laterally to offset position by thecooperative action of the links H and 24, the arm 2! and latch 3!, aswill be seen by a comparison of the position of the parts shown in Figs.1, 3 and 4. When the sections have been carried to offset positions,they still maintain the same angular relationship, as indicated in Fig.3, and by swinging the seat section toward the back section to a secondpredetermined angular position, illustrated in Fig. 4, the trip 40 isthus brought to a position to engage the grooved portion 37 of the block35 and when the seat section is swung away from the back section, thetrip 43, acting against the grooved portion 31, operates to swing thelatch 3i upwardly away from the abutments 35, thus disengaging theseparts, whereupon the seat section may then be swung downwardly tohorizontal position, as shown by the dotand dash lines of Fig. 4, inwhich position it forms a bed section. Thus, to convert the couch to abed, it is simply necessary to swing the back section downwardly tohorizontal position, then swing the seat section toward the back sectionto effect release of the latch, and finally lower the seat section tohorizontal position.

In order to convert the bed back to a couch, the seat section is merelyelevated to an angle sufficient to effect engagement of the latch 3|with the abutments 36 and then swing the seat section downwardly tonormal horizontal position, which movement is effective to elevate theback section to upstanding position and simultaneously shift the twosections from offset position to normal position shown in Fig. 1.

It will be observed that the two sections tend to counterbalanceeachother and hence there is but a slight force required for theaforementioned manipulations. It will also be noted that, with theexception of conventional fastening elements, the entire structure,apart from cushions, upholstery, etc., may be made from wood or othernon-metallic materials.

While I have shown and described one desirable embodiment of theinvention, it is to be understood that this disclosure is for thepurpose of illustration and that various changes in shape,

proportion and arrangement of parts, as well as the substitution ofequivalent elements for those herein shown and described, may bemadewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An article of furniture of the convertible type comprising seatandback sections pivotally mounted with respect to each other so that theback section may be swung to and from upstanding and horizontalposition, and releasable locking means for holding said seat section inupright position, said locking means comprising a block secured to oneof said sections and shaped to provide a pair of spaced abutments havingan intervening grooved portion, a latch member. pivotally mounted on theother of said sections, said latch member having a bifurcated endengageable with the abutments when the seat and back sections are swungto a predetermined angular position relative to each other so as to holdthe back section in said angular position, and a trip member pivotallymounted on said latch member between its bifurcated ends and arranged toengage said grooved portion when the two sections are swung to anotherpredetermined angular position relative to each other so as to swingsaid latch member clear of said abutments and thereby disengage theparts.

2. An article of furniture of the convertible type comprising a framemember, a seat section supported on said frame member, a link at eachend of said seat section, one end of said link being pivotally securedto said frame member and its other end to said seat section so that theseat section may be moved laterally from a normal position when used asa seat'outwardly to an offset position when used as a bed and swung froma horizontal position to an upwardly inclined position, a back sectionpivotally connected to said section so that it may be swung from anormal upright position to a horizontal position, a second link at eachend of said back section, one end of said link being pivotally securedto said frame member and its other end to said back section so that theback section may be moved inwardly to an offset position wherein itslower edge is substantially in the center of the frame member, andreleasable locking means for holding said back-section in uprightposition, said means comprising a block secured to the back section andshaped to provide a pair of spaced abutments having an interveninggrooved portion, a latch member pivotally mounted on said seat section,said latch member having a bifurcated end engageable with the abutmentswhen the seat and back sections are swung to a predetermined angularposition so as to hold the sections in said angular .position, saidlatch member and links cooperating so that when the latch memberis inengagement with the abutments either section maybe manipulated to swingthe two sections to and from horizontal position and simultaneouslyeffect lateral movement of the sections to and from offset position, anda trip member pivotally mounted on said latch member between itsbifurcated ends and arranged to engage said .groovedportion when the twosections are swung to another predetermined angular position relative toeach other so as to swing said latch member clear of said abutments andthereby disengage the .parts.

FRANK S. HOFFMAN.

